Death Note Director Wanted David Bowie For Ryuk

Death Note is currently out on Netflix, and though critics haven't been giving it the best reviews, a lot of people agree that Willem Dafoe's portrayal of death god Ryuk was one of the best things about the film. As it turns out, director Adam Wingard had a different idea on who should play Ryuk, but for some reason, his first two choices died when he thought of them.

In an interview with io9, Wingard reveals:

"Yeah! There you go. Well, as a matter of fact, David Bowie was actually originally who I wanted to Ryuk—but then David Bowie died. And then the second person on my list was Prince, weirdly enough—and then he died. And I was like, we got to stop, we're literally killing them off. Which is really morbid, but it was true."

Both Bowie and Prince had passed away in 2016, and though it wasn't sure if the actors would have signed on for this movie, it does make fans wonder what a Ryuk-Bowie would look and sound like. Either way, everyone still likes Dafoe's take.

Light Turner, a bright student, stumbles across a mystical notebook that has the power to kill any person whose name he writes in it. Light decides to launch a secret crusade to rid the streets of criminals. Soon, the student-turned-vigilante finds himself pursued by a famous detective known only by the alias L.

Death Note is now available on Netflix.

See Also: Netlfix's Death Note Director Already Thinking Of A Sequel